The present invention relates to containers and, more specifically, to a paperboard container for fluent materials.
Packaging of fluent materials in containers formed of paperboard or like materials is well known in the art as, for example, Hollingshead U.S. Pat. No. 2,603,400, Kasdorf U.S. Pat. No. 2,126,116 and Meyer-Jagenberg U.S. Pat. No. 1,915,027. Such containers, however, suffer, to varying degrees, from problems relating to leakage, difficulty of opening, poor stackability, and poor pourability. The pouring problem is alleviated, to some extent, in containers having an erectable pouring spout, such as McGinnis U.S. Pat. No. 2,593,778, Davidson Jr. et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,327,024 and Karlsson-Ygger U.S. Pat. No. 2,058,592. Likewise, the openability problem has been attacked in containers such as Martin U.S. Pat. No. 2,325,145 and Milmoe U.S. Pat. No. 3,019,191 which include end closures having a self-opening feature.
Despite these efforts, no paperboard container, with the exception of a few specialized containers such as milk cartons, has gained substantial market acceptance for the packaging of fluent products. Rather, a compromise solution has been widely adopted, comprising the combination of a paperboard body or sidewall and metal end panels in what is commonly known as a "composite can". However, the increasing cost of metal, relative to paperboard, has now reduced the attractiveness of this compromise.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a container for fluent products, formed substantially of paperboard or like materials, which offers increased leak resistance.
It is another object to provide such a container which may be opened easily without the need for an opener or other implement.
It is yet another object to provide such a container which may be readily stacked and from which product may be poured in a precisely controlled, manner.
It is still another object to provide such a container which may be employed for packaging a wide variety of products while retaining a high degree of container commonality.